Program in English, Rhetoric, and Spanish

Website: https://twu.edu/english-rhetoric-spanish/

Interim Chair: Dr. Ashley Bender
Location: CFO 904
Phone: 940-898-2324
Fax: 940-898-2297
E-mail: abender@twu.edu

Graduate Degrees Offered

The Department of Language, Culture, and Gender Studies offers programs of study leading to the Master of Arts in English and the Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric. The major objectives of the department include both providing broad cultural foundations and preparing students for a variety of careers in teaching, administration, publishing, business, non-profit, and government service. The M.A. student chooses one of two tracks: one focused on the study of literature and the other focused on the study of writing and rhetoric. The Ph.D. student specializes in rhetoric. The department’s emphasis on rhetoric is a coordinating force among the basic issues within each field of study offered in the department. Students without appropriate undergraduate preparation will be asked to complete a deficiency plan of 12-15 semester credit hours (SCH) of undergraduate courses in English prior to beginning graduate coursework.

All non-degree-seeking students must consult with the Graduate Program Coordinator for advising before enrolling in graduate-level English courses and may only take 12 SCH for credit. Students seeking additional hours may apply to a Master's or certificate program.

Minors

The department offers master’s and doctoral-level minors in English. In consultation with the graduate studies advisor, students' needs determine the content of a minor. A minor must be at least nine semester credit hours.

Faculty

*BENDER, ASHLEY B., Associate Professor of English, B.A., University of North Texas; M.A., University of North Texas; Ph.D., University of North Texas

*BENNER, WILLIAM, Associate Professor of Spanish, B.S., College of Charleston; M.A., University of South Carolina; Ph.D., Tulane University

*BROWN, MATTHEW C., Associate Professor of English, B.A., University of Florida; B.S., University of Florida; M.A., University of Toronto; Ph.D., University of Notre Dame

*BUSL, GRETCHEN L., Associate Professor of English, B.A., Mount Holyoke College; Ph.D., University of Notre Dame

*CASPER, VIVIAN C., Associate Professor of English, B.A., Washburn University; M.A., Rice University; Ph.D., Rice University

*FEHLER, BRIAN, Professor of English, B.A., Texas Wesleyan University; M.A., Texas Christian University; Ph.D., Texas Christian University

*HOERMANN-ELLIOTT, JACQUELYN, Associate Professor of English, B.A., University of Missouri Kansas City; M.A., Iowa State University; Ph.D., Texas Christian University

*JETER, GAGE, Assistant Professor, B.S., Utah State University; M.Ed., University of Central Oklahoma; Ph.D., University of Oklahoma

*LACKEY, DUNDEE C., Associate Professor of English, B.F.A., Texas State University; M.A., Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi; Ph.D., Michigan State University

*LITTON, ALFRED GUY, Associate Professor of English; Executive Director of Honors Programs, B.A., University of Arkansas; M.A., University of Central Arkansas; Ph.D., University of South Carolina, Columbia

*SCOTT, GRAHAM R., Associate Professor of English, B.A., California State University, San Bernardino; M.A., University of California, Riverside; Ph.D., University of California, Riverside

*WEST, M. GENEVIEVE, Professor of English, B.A., Mississippi State University; M.A., Mississippi State University; Ph.D., Florida State University

Courses

Contact hours identified in the course descriptions are based on a 15-week term. Students who enroll in Summer or mini-terms are expected to meet the same total number of contact hours as a 15-week term.

ENG 5083. Bibliography and Research Methods. Methods of research, with focus on techniques appropriate to the thesis or dissertation. May be repeated for up to twelve hours credit. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5103. Introduction to Graduate Studies in English. Introduction to English study at the graduate level, with attention to scholarly conventions and to common analytical and critical practices. Required enrollment in first fall semester. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5113. Studies in World Literature. Directed investigation of global/transnational literature using various theoretical and historical approaches. May be organized by authors, genre, style, period, movement, theme, or region. May be repeated for credit when topic varies. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5173. Studies in Ethnic, Multicultural, and Cross Cultural Literature. Literature in English by authors whose work reflects the experience of ethnic or minority groups. Focus on themes, genres, particular groups, authors, or historical periods. May be repeated for credit when specific topic of investigation varies. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5263. Studies in American Literature. Directed investigation of a problem in the literary career of a writer, in a work, or in a trend in American literature. May be repeated for credit when the specific topic of investigation varies. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5283. Literary Criticism and Theory. Survey of literary criticism and theory focused on schools and movements and based on representative readings from major critics and theorists. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5343. Rhetoric and Composition: Theory and Practice. Introduction to theory and research in rhetoric and composition with special emphasis on preparation for teaching college composition. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5353. Rhetoric and Composition: Multimodal Pedagogy. Introduction to rhetorical theories and techniques of teaching multimodal writing. Prerequisite: ENG 5343 or permission of instructor. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5363. Studies in Linguistics. Directed investigation of problems such as feminism and language, pragmatics, discourse analysis, linguistics, and composition. May be repeated for credit when the specific topic of investigation varies. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5403. Studies in British Literature to 1760. Directed investigation of a major figure, problem, or topic in British Literature before 1760 with attention to significant scholarship and criticism. May be repeated for credit when topic varies. Three seminar hours a week. Credit Three hours.

ENG 5413. Studies in British Literature after 1760. Directed investigation of a major figure, problem, or topic in British Literature after 1760 with attention to significant scholarship and criticism. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5433. Genre Studies. Topics in selected genres and sub-genres of literary, cultural, and rhetorical production. Focus on a genre's historical and cultural development; theoretical approaches to studying genres. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5593. Studies in Literature by Women. Directed investigation of literature by women. Focus on authors, topics, genres, periods, nationalities, or problems with attention to significant scholarship and criticism. May be repeated for credit when topic varies. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5703. Studies in Folklore. Focus on the major aspects of folklore, particularly the transmission of knowledge and cultural values through the oral tradition. Special emphasis on the impact of folklore on literature. May be repeated for credit when the specific topic of the investigation varies. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5801. Directed Readings in English. Directed readings in preparation for the Master's Examination. Prerequisite: 18 graduate hours in English with a grade of B or higher. One lecture hour a week. Credit: One hour.

ENG 5903. Special Topics. Investigation in traditional lecture format of a specific literary or linguistic topic. May be repeated for credit when the specific topic of investigation varies. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5913. Independent Study. Intensive investigation of a literary or linguistic area. Conferences, readings, lectures. May be repeated for credit when the specific topic of investigation varies. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5953. Internship. Cooperative work-study arrangements between the University and business, industry, or selected institutions appropriate to the graduate English program. Job assignments are made on the basis of student interests, skills, and degree program. The student will apply the ideas and processes learned in other courses in practical experience under cooperative supervision. Cooperative planning and evaluation are essential elements in the course. For three hours of credit, 15-20 hours of work per week are required. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5973. Professional Paper. May be repeated. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5981. The Professional Portfolio. Development of a professional portfolio by students in the Master of Arts in Teaching program demonstrating the student's growth in the Learner-Centered Competencies. Pass-fail grade only. May be repeated. Credit: One hour.

ENG 5983. Thesis. May be repeated. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 5993. Thesis. Prerequisite: ENG 5983. May be repeated. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6063. Writing in the Discipline. Development of documents common in rhetorical and literary studies. Genres may include CV, job application materials, abstracts, book reviews, prospecti, presentations, articles, and teaching philosophies. Prerequisite: Six hours of graduate level coursework with a grade of B or higher. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6083. Research Methods in Rhetoric and Composition. Students design and conduct research through methods such as textual, ethnographic, historical, and empirical analysis in rhetoric and composition. Students learn to discriminate among types of research, examine scholarship critically, and select appropriate research designs. Seminar and research projects. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6203. History of Rhetoric I. Foundations of ancient and classical rhetoric. Readings in Plato, Aristotle, Quintilian, and others. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6213. History of Rhetoric II. Historical survey of rhetoric from the medieval period through the Enlightenment. Readings in medieval rhetorical handbooks, schools in Renaissance, humanism, poetics, and rhetoric in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6223. History of Rhetoric III. Historical survey of rhetoric from the nineteenth century to the present. Readings in reform movements of the nineteenth century; pulpit and political oratory; elocution; American composition and rhetoric; new perspectives; contemporary rhetorical strategies; invention as discourse theory. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6283. Studies in Critical Theory. Directed investigation of a major figure, problem, or topic in critical theory, including relevant application to the practice of rhetoric. May be repeated for credit when topic varies. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6313. Studies in Rhetorical Criticism and Discourse Analysis. Directed investigation of topics in semiotics, narratology, discourse analysis, and stylistics as approaches to written texts and other forms of symbolic communication. May be repeated for credit when the specific topic of investigation varies. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6323. Studies in Feminist Rhetoric. Directed investigation of problems in feminism and rhetoric such as feminist histories of rhetoric, feminist rhetorical theories, feminist composition pedagogy, feminism and technology, and feminist epistemology. May be repeated for credit when the specific topic of investigation varies. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6343. Major Rhetorical Theories. Intensive investigation of selected major rhetoricians and schools of rhetorical thought within the history and development of rhetoric. Prerequisite: ENG 6203 or permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit up to 12 hours when specific topic of investigation varies. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6403. Studies in Writing and Rhetoric. Directed investigation of advanced rhetorical or composition theory and practice within a selected field, mode, or area of inquiry. May be repeated for credit when topic varies. Prerequisite: Completion of six graduate hours with a grade of B or higher, including at least three hours of research tools. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6801. Directed Readings in Rhetoric. Directed readings in an area of literary and/or rhetorical studies. Student must be concurrently completing or have completed all required organized courses. May be taken twice for credit. One lecture hour a week. Credit: One hour.

ENG 6903. Special Topics. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6913. Independent Study. Intensive investigation of a literary, rhetorical, or linguistic area. Conferences, readings, lectures. May be repeated for credit when the specific topic of investigation varies. Prerequisites: Graduate standing and an undergraduate concentration in English. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6983. Dissertation. Prerequisite: Successful completion of the qualifying examination. May be repeated for additional credit. Credit: Three hours.

ENG 6993. Dissertation. May be repeated for additional credit. Prerequisite: ENG 6983. Credit: Three hours.